Saturday, March 26, 2016
Berlin News to Know February 2nd
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This communication is put together and distributed on a
volunteer basis by resident Corinne Stridsberg simply in an effort to share
information and build community, it is not from the town of Berlin
Please share this with your Berlin
*
For current news
look for "Berlin , Vermont
For historical
news look for "Berlin , Vermont
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Notes:
The Town
Report went to the printers last week and will be ready to distribute about mid
February in time to send a copy home to each of the families who have a child
at Berlin Elementary
School
The next
quarterly tax payment is due Wednesday, February 17th
Kohls is
scheduled to open on February 28th
Below you will find:
DRB ON JUNCTION ROAD PROJECT
DOG
LICENSES 2016
OUTDOOR
JOURNAL - BERLIN
BALLOTS / REGISTER TO VOTE
CHILDREN'S CLOTHING EXCHANGE
BERLIN MALL FEARS WORST FROM OPTIONS TAX
VOTING
ISSUE MAY DERAIL LOCAL OPTION IN BERLIN
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International
Crepe Day - Free crepes all day Tuesday, February 2nd at the Skinny
Pancake. You can ask for a Nutella, pooh
bear, or pure simple crepe. City Center
in Montpelier 8am -
8pm
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DRB ON JUNCTION ROAD PROJECT
The Development Review Board
meets today, Tuesday, February 2nd 7pm at
the Town Office. On the agenda is a request for a permit for a project on Junction Road
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DOG LICENSES 2016
Dog
licenses are the law across the state.
The Towns keep a portion of the fee and the state gets the rest for
rabies control and to go toward state subsidies to spay or neuter animals. Having your dog registered can also help
reunite your dog with you.
Animal
license 2016
On or
before April 1st the fee to have your dog licensed is
$9 for
spayed / neutered dogs
$11 for
unspayed / unneutered
Please
make sure we have a current rabies vaccination for your animal.
After
April 1st: $13 for spayed / neutered dogs and $17 for unspayed / unneutered
The
increase this year is due to an increase of the State spay/neuter surcharge
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OUTDOOR JOURNAL - BERLIN
Vermont
PBS, nine minute video on Berlin
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A job
fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 5 at University of Vermont
Health Network-Central Vermont Medical Center, or CVMC.
The job
fair is open to anyone in the community interested in the health care industry.
Recruiters
and managers will be on hand to answer questions about the wide variety of
career opportunities available at the medical center.
Cover
letters and resumes are encouraged.
The event
will be held in conference rooms 1 and 2 on the lower level of the hospital at
CVMC’s main campus located at 130 Fisher Road Berlin
For more
information, visit www.uvmhealth.org/cvmc.
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BALLOTS
/ REGISTER TO VOTE
Please stop by the Town Clerk's Office for an
Early / Absentee Ballot. You can also call 229-9298 and request one be
mailed to you. If you're not yet a registered voter, you can fill out a
form in the Town Clerk's office or ask to have one mailed to you.
It's also now possible to register to vote on line: https://olvr.sec.state.vt.us/
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CHILDREN'S CLOTHING EXCHANGE
The second Saturday of every
month there will be a children's clothing exchange at the Capital City Grange
on Route 12 in Berlin 9:30-11:30am Bring
what you can, take what you need for newborns through a Junior 12. Please bring
clean and gently used items.
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Pub
1/23/16 Times Argus by David Delcore
Hadley’s
estimate assumes voters approve the $2.75 million spending plan that was
adopted by the Select Board earlier this week, as well as more than $310,000 in
special funding requests that will join the board’s budget request on this
year’s Town Meeting Day ballot.
Fueled by
construction of a new Kohl’s department store at the Berlin Mall and recent
redevelopment along the Barre-Montpelier Road
If
Hadley’s estimate is in the ballpark, the municipal portion of the local tax
rate would drop from 46.3 cents to 44 cents per $100 in assessed property
value.
Though
Hadley is confident there will be a significant spike in the Grand List, he said
if it were to remain unchanged the spending requests that will be reflected on
the ballot the board will finalize when it meets on Monday would trigger a
1.3-cent rate hike.
That
translates into paying an extra $13 for every $100,000 of taxable value, or a
$26 increase in property taxes for the owner of a home assessed at $200,000.
Most of
that increase can be traced to the $2.75 million general fund budget and an
associated capital fund that were adopted by the board this week. The combined
requests call for spending about $164,000 more than the $2.6 million budget
voters approved a year ago, an increase of 6.3 percent.
The vast
majority of that increase — more than $133,000 — is reflected in a proposed
capital budget that contemplates the acquisition of a new truck for the highway
department.
The
proposed increased in the town’s operating budget is a little less than
$31,000, or about 1.2 percent.
The board
is banking on a $96,000 increase in revenue — including $125,000 in proceeds
from the loan for the $165,000 truck — to largely offset the increased
expenses. Once the revenues are applied, the net increase is roughly $56,000,
or 2.85 percent.
The gap
between the cost of operating the local police department and maintaining and
upgrading town roads continues to narrow, under the budget proposed by the
board. This year’s budget calls for spending approximately $912,000 on the
police department and $996,000 on town highways. However, due largely to a 3
percent pay raise negotiated with the police union, the cost of that department
is expected to climb to $938,500 during the coming fiscal year, while the cost
of running the highway department is projected to drop to $973,000.
Hadley
said payroll savings associated with turnover on the highway crew, coupled with
the shedding of a $45,000 loan payment and projected fuel savings are largely
responsible for what amounts to a $23,000 reduction in the proposed highway
budget.
In
addition to the budget request, voters will be asked to approve more than
$310,000 in special funding requests — the combined requests are more than
$34,000 higher than the amount voters approved a year ago.
Although
the Berlin Volunteer Fire Department’s $245,000 request is responsible for most
of the total, it accounts for only $3,000 of the requested increase. Most of
the increase — more than $28,000 — is tied to the Kellogg-Hubbard Library’s
renewed request for funding from Berlin
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BERLIN MALL FEARS WORST FROM OPTIONS TAX
Pub
1/22/16 Times Argus by David Delcore
Following
a pair of public hearings during which the proposed local options tax was
predictably panned by some from the business community, the board set the stage
for a March 1 vote by agreeing to include the question on this year’s Town
Meeting Day ballot.
Wednesday’s
decision was anything but enthusiastic and capped a brief discussion that saw
the lawyer for the town’s largest taxpayer renew his client’s objection to a
tax he feared might make the Berlin Mall less attractive to both shoppers and
prospective tenants.
“The town
is running the risk of killing the goose that lays the golden egg,” Charles
Storrow said, suggesting that at a time when Vermont malls are competing with
tax-free New Hampshire and shopping on the Internet is becoming increasingly
popular, “one more disincentive” in the form of an optional sales tax wasn’t
helpful.
“We would
respectfully request that you not do this,” he said speaking on behalf of the
mall’s owners.
And then
the board did, though Selectman Brad Towne stressed his support for the ballot
question proposed by board member Jeremy Hansen shouldn’t be viewed as an
endorsement.
“I can’t
say I’m really in favor of it,” Towne said of the proposed tax that would add 1
percent to the state’s 6 percent sales tax.
“I think
if I were going to vote on it (Hansen’s motion) I would vote on it just to get
it before the voters,” he added.
Selectman
Pete Kelley said he felt the same way.
“Let’s
put it out there and let the people decide,” he said. “Technically, that’s sort
of our job isn’t it?”
With the
exception of perhaps a dozen people who spoke at one of two public hearings —
including the one held prior to the board’s regular meeting Monday — Kelley
said he had received surprisingly little feedback involving an alternative tax
that could be a source of new revenue for the town.
According
to Hansen’s conservative estimates, a 1 percent sales tax could net the town
$420,000 in new revenue — money the ballot question that was ultimately
approved by the board suggests would be used to “lower local property taxes.”
There’s
irony there, because both Towne and Kelley openly questioned whether — at least
in the short term — that would be the most prudent use of a revenue windfall.
In a
conversation that was prompted by Chairman Ture Nelson, Towne said his
preference would be to see at least some of the new money dedicated to
infrastructure improvements. Kelley went further, suggesting the board should
consider paying off existing debt, knocking off some paving projects, and
making major equipment purchases before simply “getting the money and giving it
away” in the form of a significant rate reduction.
“I think
to put it to (reduce) property taxes right off the bat is the least efficient
use of the money possible,” he said.
In a
perfect world Kelley said the board would have the flexibility to pay off what
it owes and deal with looming projects and equipment purchases before funneling
new money directly into the General Fund.
“If it’s
my money that’s what I would do with it,” he said.
Nelson
wondered whether there might be a middle ground between the strategy suggested
by Kelley and the ballot language proposed by Hansen.
“The way
it’s worded right now, we’re giving everybody a piece of cake,” he said.
“Instead of giving them a piece of cake could we give them a cookie or a
cracker?”
Nelson said
the idea of using some of the option tax revenue for property tax relief and
some to make targeted improvements might be preferable to the “bring the town
up to snuff” and then share the wealth concept outlined by Kelley.
“The
concern (with that approach) is …we pay down the loans and we do the roads and
then when we’re at the point where we think we’re caught up, we don’t stop,” he
said.
Hansen
said he believed the language he proposed would give the board the flexibility
it needed to make “necessary and reasonable adjustments to the budget” while
using local option tax revenue to lower the municipal portion of the property
tax.
“We’re
not going to go on a shopping spree,” he said.
The
$420,000 revenue estimate that has been used by Hansen is believed to be a
conservative number and should swell with next month’s opening of a Kohl’s
department store at the mall. Even if it doesn’t, in a town where every penny
on the tax rate raises roughly $50,000, the town’s 70 percent share of $600,000
in projected sales tax revenue would trim roughly 8.5 cents from a municipal
tax rate that currently stands at 47.6-cents-per-$100-assessed property value.
That
translates to $85 in annual savings for every $100,000 of assessed property
value and, Nelson noted, a potential $12,000 decrease in the tax bill for the
multi-million-dollar mall.
Storrow
wasn’t swayed.
“Why mess
with a good thing,” he said.
The board
ultimately backed the ballot language proposed by Hansen, though if Kelley is
right it won’t matter much.
“I don’t
think it’s going to pass,” he predicted.
History
is on Kelley’s side because the last time a local option tax was on the ballot
in Berlin Montpelier
The idea
has been revived again and following a soft show of support for a non-binding
question at town meeting last year, Hansen and members of the town’s recently
reconstituted economic development committee have recommended the local tax.
david.delcore
@timesargus.com
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VOTING ISSUE MAY DERAIL LOCAL OPTION IN BERLIN
Pub
1/27/16 Times Argus by David Delcore
BERLIN —
An unexpected wrinkle involving the process for approving a local sales tax in
Berlin could prompt the Select Board to abort plans to pop that question on
Town Meeting Day.
The
issue, which surfaced during a special board meeting on Monday, turned what
should have been a formality — approving the warning for the March 1 elections
— into an information-gathering assignment for Town Administrator Dana Hadley.
One of
the questions that Hadley was asked to answer before the board regroups later
today, is whether members’ strong preference to have the tax question decided
by Australian ballot is, for lack of a better term, a local option.
Based on
Hadley’s research, it doesn’t appear to be. At least not if the board wants
voters to decide the matter on March 1.
That’s
the word from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, which, Hadley said,
essentially affirmed Town Clerk Rosemary Morse’s decision to include the local
option tax question on the short list of articles that voters still decide
during what little remains of Berlin
Though Berlin
Some
questions, like bond issues, and amendments to zoning bylaws and to municipal
charters, are required by state law to be decided by Australian ballot, but in
Berlin voters have reserved the right consider all other “public questions” —
even if that only involves electing a moderator or deciding when property tax
payments should be due — on the floor of town meeting.
In 2009, Berlin
That has
been Morse’s understanding, so when she prepared the Town Meeting Day warning
for the board’s approval she included the local option tax question, as well as
the Capital City Grange’s request for a 10-year tax exemption, on the list of
items to be decide by those who attend town meeting this year.
“All
‘public questions’ should be voted from the floor,” Morse explained Tuesday.
“(The local option tax proposal) is a ‘public question.’”
Morse
said she could not explain why a broader package of public option taxes were
rejected, 121-351, during a Town Meeting Day vote that was conducted by
Australian ballot in 2001.
“That was
before my time,” she said, suggesting it was probably fortunate the tax was
rejected because the adoption process was flawed.
The
Select Board had hoped to attract a broader cross section of the community than
typically turns out for what has become a watered down town meeting to weigh in
the renewed request for a 1 percent sales tax.
On
Monday, members asked Hadley to determine whether the Australian ballot was a
possibility either on or after Town Meeting Day before they finalized the
warning.
And
here’s where the board could have a decision to make: While it appears clear
the current proposal would have to be decided on the floor of an open town
meeting, a proposed charter change incorporating the same language must be
warned for an Australian ballot vote.
The board
is already contemplating a package of charter changes, but missed a key
deadline for including them on the Town Meeting Day ballot. While pursuing a
charter change for a local option tax would likely delay implementation of the
tax until next year, it would necessitate an Australian ballot vote.
The
alternative would be to press ahead with a March 1 floor vote on a proposal
that has predictably drawn fire from some in the business community and would
be subject to the whims of a comparatively small sliver of the local
electorate.
“That’s a
choice for the board,” Hadley said, setting the stage for today’s special
meeting, which is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. at the town offices on Shed Road
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Pub
1/29/16 Times Argus by David Delcore
Unwilling
to roll the dice on how the measure might fare on the floor of what has, in
recent years, been a poorly attended town meeting, and unable to legally
include the article on the lengthy list of questions voters will decide by
Australian ballot, the board agreed to abandon plans for a March 1 vote.
“I feel
that this topic is important enough that as many voters as possible should be
given the opportunity to weigh in on it,” Chairman Ture Nelson said, suggesting
that simply wouldn’t be the case at town meeting.
“While I
still fully support the local option tax in Berlin, and feel it’s a good
direction for the town to go, I think, due to the historically low turnout
we’ve had for the floor vote in past years, that it would be beneficial for us
to take a step back and not act on it at … this time,” he said.
When it
comes to the alternative tax proposal, failure on the floor of an open town
meeting — poorly attended or not — would likely have been fatal for the
foreseeable future. Rather than risk that, Nelson recommended the board pursue
a strategy that sidesteps a belatedly discovered requirement that most “public
questions” — the proposed local option tax among them — be voted on the floor
of an open town meeting.
By
reframing the newly scrapped question involving the local option tax as a
proposed amendment to the town’s charter, Nelson said an Australian ballot vote
could be warned in conjunction with the general election in November. By law,
charter changes must be approved using the day-long voting system Berlin
Though
the board maintained, and still believes, that Berlin
With
other proposed charter changes already in the works, Nelson recommended adding
the 1 percent sales tax to the mix in anticipation of a November vote.
“I think
that would be a good time to act on the option tax as part of the charter
change process,” he said.
According
to Nelson, turnout for the general election in November will likely be even
higher than the town will see on March 1 — a fact he listed as one of the
advantages associated with the board’s change of plans.
Nelson
said the delay would also give the board more time to explain a tax that,
according to its conservative estimates would raise roughly $420,000 a year and
take some of the pressure off of the local property tax.
The
article that was stripped from the warning indicated all proceeds from the
proposed 1 percent tax on sales would be used to “lower property taxes” — a
commitment Nelson said could be written into the proposed charter language.
Nelson
said the strategy, which was ultimately embraced by the board, would also
resolve any lingering doubts about whether a charter change similar to those
being proposed in both Barre and Montpelier Berlin
Board
member Jeremy Hansen, who has been the most vocal proponent of the local sales
tax, said Nelson’s arguments were compelling.
“I think
that makes a lot of sense,” he said of the proposed November vote on a tax that
has generated predictable pushback from some in the business community.
Owners of
the Berlin Mall are on that list and a week after their lawyer tried
unsuccessfully to discourage the board from agreeing to schedule a Town Meeting
Day, one of them — Ken Simon — urged them not to cancel it.
Simon
didn’t have a change of heart about the proposed tax, but Town Administrator
Dana Hadley told the board that he called before Wednesday’s meeting to say
that if the question is going to be asked, he favored an open meeting format
that would give the mall a chance to “plead its case” before voters make their
decision.
Board
members didn’t discount Simon’s request, but their shared desire to put the
question to a town-wide trumped it.
Though
pursuing a charter change guarantees a vote by Australian ballot, Nelson said
it is a more time-consuming process than the one the board initially
anticipated. Regardless of the result, he said it would be worth the wait,
because it would provide the board with the clearest reading of what
townspeople think about what has become an increasingly popular idea.
A
successful vote in November would require waiting for the charter change to
work its way through the Legislature next year and probably postpone
implementation of the new tax until July 1, 2017 .
The
board’s initial plan to bypass the charter change could have led to the tax
being implemented as early as this April.
The only
other option would have been to again ask voters at town meeting to approve all
public questions by Australian ballot and subsequently warning an up-or-down
vote on the proposed tax without changing the charter. That two-step process
could conceivably have expedited things, but would have hinged on voters
agreeing to do something they refused to six years ago when they agreed to
preserve what little is left of their traditional town meeting.
Nelson
said he favored a more direct approach.
“I think
(proposing a) charter (change) would be the cleanest, easiest way to do this,”
he said.
George
Malek, a long-time critic of local option taxes who recently retired as
president of the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce, wasn’t quite sure what to
make of the board’s decision to abandon plans for a Town Meeting Day vote.
“Thank
you, I think?” an uncertain Malek told the board.
“It’s not
really ‘thank you,’” Nelson replied. “It (the tax proposal) is still there, it
(the vote) is just going to be a little bit later.”
The
board’s decision with respect to the option tax doesn’t leave much for voters
to decide on the floor of this year’s town meeting. Other than electing a moderator,
and approving a plan to pay property taxes in quarterly installment, the only
other question on the warning is a 10-year tax exemption the Capital City
Grange has requested for its property on Route 12. In exchange for the
requested exemption the grange is offering Berlin
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Pub
1/25/16 Times Argus / Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce
One of
the great events for the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce is our annual
meeting. This is the one opportunity that we have all year to collectively meet
and celebrate all of the successes that we have enjoyed from the previous year.
And what a year it was.
Perhaps
the most significant event was an announcement. George Malek said that “it’s
time to say good-bye.” Following 37 years of dynamic leadership, George told
the board that he planned to retire at the end of the year. The chamber will
never be the same. The Chamber has accomplished so much under George’s
dedicated guidance that it is difficult to know where to begin. The Chamber
today is a reflection of the vision and direction brought by George. The central
Vermont
The
chamber kicked off 2015 at the annual meeting with a presentation on
development, focusing on the risks, rewards and motivation to build, renovate
and own commercial space. That in turn has led to discussions at the Capitol
concerning challenges that developers face. New talks have recently begun
centered on extending the expiration dates in future permits that expire when
an appeal is still pending, thereby requiring the applicant to re-apply.
Our
annual legislative breakfast was a tremendous success as was our annual golf
outing. Between our mixers and educational seminars chamber members had a
variety of opportunities to network and grow their businesses.
This
year’s annual meeting will be on Feb. 11 with a topical focus. We will be
presenting “The 1 Percent Sting: Facts and Impacts of Local Option Taxes.” We
will be exploring who the real “winners” and “losers” are when communities
adopt local option taxes. Among those expressing their thoughts will be Jeff
Blow from Jet Service Envelope Company in Berlin Montpelier Berlin Berlin Montpelier
At the
annual meeting, we will be thanking Leslie Sanborn from R & L Archery who
is completing her second term as board chair and Gary Hass from World
Publications who has completed his term on the board of directors. Lindel James
from the Center for Leadership Skills has been nominated to serves as board
chair. Those nominated to serve on the board include Joe Choquette from Downs , Rachlin, Martin, Cody Patno from
Noyle W. Johnson Insurance and Amy White from Key Bank.
I invite
you all to join us at our annual meeting. It will take place from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier
William
Moore is the president of the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce.
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# posted by Corinne's blog of Berlin and area happenings @ 11:01 AM 
